Syrians living in Lebanon, Europe and the U.S. reveal a common conviction that national unity and a common sense of identity are necessary to rebuild the country, but most say that both seem distant in a country divided along ethnic-sectarian lines.

The route from Turkey to Greece was once crowded with Syrian asylum seekers fleeing to Europe. But in recent months some refugees have begun to move in the opposite direction because of what they describe as a rise in anti-Muslim sentiment in host countries.

Over the past year, Chechnya significantly expanded its role and foothold in Syria, including funding the reconstruction of major Syrian mosques and deploying highly trained Chechen military forces to some of the toughest front lines.

The UN Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, has said that the current talks in Geneva aimed at ending the six-year-old Syrian conflict is to run through December 15, but that it would not be “just a normal round of talks”.

Pressure to leave Lebanon has been mounting recently as tensions between displaced Syrians and Lebanese locals have become more strained. It is “host-community fatigue,” said Dr. Nasser Yassin, the director of research at the American University in Beirut’s Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs.

Russia said on Wednesday that it is seeking changes to a U.N. Security Council resolution that authorizes cross-border aid delivery to opposition-held parts of Syria without approval from the Syrian government, AFP reported.